CHAPTER 24

Franklin wasn't quite sure how worried he should be. Having one power like this was dangerous enough, but two? Especially with Travis who showed no sign of hesitation in using his power whenever he wanted. Franklin could only imagine the havoc that would be caused by these electricity powers going wild.

And what did that mean for him and Madison? Would they also get two powers? If so, what would they be? He clenched his fist, remembering the feeling of power he'd had during the football tryouts, how much he'd had to hold back. How much worse was that going to get with more power added in? And what if it didn't stop with two? What if they just kept accumulating powers until…well, he didn't know what the end result would be. Superman? Goku? God?

They needed to find out how they got these powers, ASAP. But the problem was, they had no idea how. Where did they even start? Who could be responsible for something like this? The government? Some pharmaceutical company? A criminal organization? A mad scientist? Someone else? Franklin wasn't even sure which one sounded more ridiculous.

"Bam! Bam! Bam!" Travis repeatedly fired off a lightning bolt from his fingers, scorching the ground. "This is so freaking cool. Kabam! Kazam! Shaz-"

"How are you so calm about all of this?" Madison asked shrilly. "You just learned you can fire off bolts of electricity but you're treating it like a game!"

"Oh sorry," he said, pausing. "It's just…well…this is a dream come true for me. So, in case it all fades away by tomorrow, I want to enjoy it while it lasts."

"Well, I personally wouldn't mind if my power disappeared," Madison said, looking down at her hand in fear, as if it would vanish any second. Franklin half-expected it would.

He did admit, it was cool to have powers. But all those fantasies he'd had as a kid of living the life of a superhero were exactly what they were supposed to be: fantasies. Having real superpowers was way too complicated and scary. Was it cool that he could punch through a wall without a scratch on him? Obviously. But it was way more scary as he could easily imagine a human body instead of a wall. Even if it was a wall, it wouldn't take much for the rest of the building to come crumbling down as well. He grimaced just thinking about it.

But that was why it actually was important to train here. Travis obviously just wanted to see all that he could do. Well, Franklin only wanted to control his powers. And if it did turn out he was stuck with them, then he was going to make sure he could never intentionally hurt someone with them. If Superman could do it, it shouldn't be that hard.

He hoped.

Franklin decided to start simply and test the limits of his strength by seeing just how much he would be able to lift. He walked over to a large rock and easily lifted it up. He frowned as he did it, thinking. He could definitely feel the weight of the rock but it was so much lighter now. So…fragile.

Acting on instinct, he pushed his hands together and after a few seconds, the rock gave way and crumbled into pieces, falling to the ground.

"Damn dude," Travis muttered, eyes wide. "That is dope."

"Damn is right," Franklin muttered. It was definitely still terrifying as hell to have that power. But he had to admit, when he crushed the rock, he felt…good.

"Alright, let's see what else we can do here," he said, almost to himself.

He walked into the warehouse and could definitely see why it had been abandoned. The walls were coated with grime and graffiti, half the pillars had fallen apart, and the whole place basically reminded him of a broken eggshell. Wouldn't take much for the place to fall down.

Which probably meant it wasn't a good idea to train his super strength here. But he was here now, so whatever. Besides, he honestly didn't think a collapsing building could harm him at this point.

"So, what should we start with?" Travis asked excitedly. "More weight lifting? Hmm, that'll be a little tricky since there aren't too many heavy things to lift here. Ooh, I know! How about…"

Franklin ignored him and just walked up to one of the broken pillars. It was still taller than Franklin though he didn't think that would last very long as he cocked his fist and threw a haymaker as hard as he could.

He wasn't quite sure what he'd been expecting. After breaking that rock apart, he kind of thought it would go the same way. And it did. But what he wasn't expecting was what happened after.

The second his fist struck the pillar, it cracked and shattered into a million pieces. And then, every single one of those pieces was hurled across the warehouse into the far wall like bullets from a gun, either breaking even further on contact or embedding themselves in the mortar. Franklin blinked at the damage before glancing down at the pillar. Only half of it now remained.

"Holy shit!" Travis exclaimed. "That was so killer!"

"That's definitely a word for it," Franklin muttered, staring at his fist. There wasn't even a scratch on it. He had actually felt something there, but it was more like a tingle than anything real.

"J-just how strong are you?" Madison asked.

Franklin blinked, almost having forgotten she was there. She was staring at him nervously and he couldn't blame her after what he'd just done. But it did make him feel queasy inside because he really didn't know the answer to her question.

Just how strong was he?

An idea hit him. A scary, ridiculous, and kind of awesome idea that he got from an old Marvel comic. "Guys, maybe you should take a few steps back."

"What? Why?" Madison asked worriedly.

"Oh, you're about to do something super cool aren't you?" Travis grinned.

"Possibly," Franklin replied. As they stepped back, he kneeled down and placed his hands against the floor. Uncertainties began to pop through his head but he ignored them. He needed to know. If he was as strong as he thought he was, then he needed to be ready. And he couldn't know unless he tested it out.

Taking a deep breath, he thrust his hands down into the ground, as if he was scooping up dirt. Except here he was pushing through concrete. He was both a little surprised and relieved to learn that it wasn't easy. He was meeting quite a bit of resistance. But that faded fast as he pushed hard, breaking through the floor into the earth below. He kept going, grunting a little as dug deeper and deeper until he was buried up to his elbows.

There was one last second of hesitation before he tightened his grip and thrust upward, throwing all the earth in his hands as hard as he could. There was a slight pause, a tension in the air like when he stubbed his toe and he knew exactly what would happen right before the pain set in. Then, the floor cracked and came apart as the ground erupted. He had personally thought that that comic was just for gags, that he would only lift up maybe a large chunk of earth, not send the whole floor rising up. Turns out, it was somewhere in between.

He did have a chunk of earth in hand but lifting it up so suddenly and with such strength had an effect on the rest of the earth around it, causing it to rise up as well. For several yards, the floor had completely cracked, looking more like ice than concrete. Dirt and rocks had gone everywhere, shooting up from his sudden assault. And there was now a large hole in the floor where he had removed the large chunk of the ground that he was currently holding.

"Jesus," Franklin muttered taking it in. So, apparently, he was incredibly strong. Not Superman level yet, it seemed. Maybe not Hulk either. But still, very strong. The chunk of earth he was holding, which looked like it might be able to crush a car if thrown right, still didn't really weigh much. At most, it was just a little uncomfortable to hold on to considering its size. With a slight heave, he tossed it to the side where most of it crumbled away into dirt and pebbles.

"DUDE!" Travis exclaimed, his eyes shining. "That was so freaking cool! You just…into the ground…with your hands…pulled it all up…wow. Yeah, this is without a doubt the greatest day of my life." He started giggling like a little kid on his birthday.

Madison on the other hand just stared at him in shock. "Ho…wha…oh my god," she mumbled. "How is any of this happening?"

Franklin sighed, clenching his fists. "I don't know," he said. "But we're going to figure it out. Right Travis?" He shot a look to his new friend.

"Definitely," Travis said seriously. "Don't worry Madison. Look, I get that all this is scary for you and I'm sorry if I don't seem…the same way. But I do want to help you. So let's do that."

"How?" Madison asked.

"Well, try turning invisible."

"B-but…I don't know how to do that. It just happens."

"Ok, good start." Travis rubbed his chin, his foot tapping endlessly against the ground. "Well, let's start simply. When did you first realize you could turn invisible?"

"Um…it was this morning. I was just washing my face with a towel when I saw I had no reflection in the mirror."

"Hmm. Probably just a first reaction then. What about after that?"

"At breakfast. I was pouring some orange juice and my hand just turned invisible."

"Alright. Then let's focus on how you were feeling then."

"What?"

"I think," Franklin said, stepping in, "what Travis means is, what were you thinking at that moment. Was there anything in particular on your mind? Like, what was happening at that moment that you think might have triggered your powers?"

"Oh, ok," Madison replied, now giving their questions more thought. "Well, my mom was going on about making friends and…something else." Her face turned a little red as she said this, causing Franklin's eyebrows to go up but he ignored it. "And I just wanted to calm down. That's when I noticed my hand turning invisible."

Franklin looked at Travis who seemed to be also deep in thought. "Alright. And the next time, I'm assuming, was at the school where we found you."

"Uh…not exactly. I stayed invisible all the way there."

That was surprising. Franklin whistled a little. "You kept your power up all the way from your home to school until we found you? Wow. And you didn't feel any strain or anything like that?"

"No," she replied. "Nothing. I wish I had because it would have been easier to stop."

"Right. So was there any other time?"

"Y-yeah," she nodded. "Before I came here. My parents were in my room and were…well, they basically said they wanted me to be…" she hesitated, looking like she wanted to curl into herself. "We were just talking and it was getting a little embarrassing and so…"

Franklin pursed his lips as it happened and he glanced over at Travis whose foot had stopped tapping. Instead, he had a slight gleam in his eye, seeing it as well.

"Madison," Franklin said. "Let's start by saying the first time was just a fluke, probably just your power leaking out. But when you were with your parents, would it be a safe guess to say you wanted to hide from them? Just…disappear?"

Madison looked up at that word, gaping a little.

"And then, when you were walking around, even if you wanted your power to fade away, I think subconsciously you wanted to just hide. Which is what your power let you do. The same with your parents again."

"H-how…that…why do you think that?" she asked, stuttering a little.

Franklin grimaced a little. "Um…look at your hands," he suggested gently.

Madison glanced down and gasped, seeing her hands were no longer there. "Oh," she said sadly. "So that's it huh. Matches my personality perfectly." She sat down and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Lucky me."

Travis frowned at that and looked like he wanted to say something but decided not to. Instead, he kneeled down next to her. "Hey," he said. "Look, we'll figure this out. You're not alone in this. You'll get a handle on it."

"How?" she asked miserably. "How am I supposed to do that? If today was any indication, I practically want to hide from people all day long, so I'll be invisible the rest of my life. You guys figured me out in seconds so clearly I'm even more of a freak than I thought."

Franklin blinked. That had not been his intention. But before he could say anything, Travis beat him to it.

"Don't say that," he said firmly.

"Huh?" Madison looked up, her eyes misty.

"Don't call yourself a freak. Not that way. Madison, there are so many things you're good at. I've been your friend long enough now to see that. You're amazing at computer programming. And I watch a lot of shows with computer programming and hacking involved so I know what I'm talking about. Plus, you're one of the smartest kids in our class. I think only Sumin and Gabriela are smarter, and that's not even fair with them. Ok, so you have social anxieties, who doesn't? That does not make you a freak. It just means you take longer to trust people." Travis then grinned widely. "And now you clearly trust us, which makes today an even better day for me. So thanks for that."

Franklin was watching as Travis talked, seeing Madison's reaction. And he couldn't help but smile at how large her eyes got when he said that as well as the redness that seeped into her cheeks.

"Yeah," he said, walking up now. "It's an honor to know you trust me now too. So don't worry about it. Everyone has things they deal with. The important part is making sure you don't deal with them alone. We're here for you and we'll help you all the way."

It was a little preachy for his taste, but he couldn't think of anything better to say in the moment. But it seemed to have done the trick as Madison smiled a little and wiped her eyes.

"Thanks guys," she said. "That…thanks."

"No problem!" Travis flashed her two thumbs up.

"Yeah, seriously no problem. Now, let's see how we can get you to control your powers."

Madison took a deep breath before standing up again. "Alright. But…where do we even start?"

Franklin thought about it. Her power seemed built on her own need to hide from everyone around her. And when it became stronger, her anxiety got stronger. So, the question was, how to overcome that anxiety?

Franklin sighed inwardly. That was a tough question. He knew himself how hard it was. For years, his dad had been bullied due to being overweight and trained his body so that he could never go through that again. Then he'd passed it down by making Franklin exercise constantly. And while he couldn't blame his father fully for it, and he really didn't mind exercising, that fear of turning fat stayed with him and pushed him to still exercise constantly.

With Madison it was obviously different, but it still came from some kind of fear. And while Franklin didn't think he'd be able to tackle the source, or really get anywhere near the source right now, there were a few things from therapy he could try.

"Here, Madison. You're a computer programmer, right?"

"Um, yeah."

"Great. Then try this. Imagine your power is like a program. Our whole bodies are really just machines made of flesh and bone. So your power is just…another program that makes your body tick now…or something."

Madison stared at him for a few seconds, almost looking like he'd gone crazy, before she nodded. "Ok, I'll give it a try." She took a breath and closed her eyes.

"Now, when you're…programming," Franklin started. He really wished he knew more about programming to help her right now but he was with Travis in that he'd only really seen it from TV shows and such. And even all that was both a simplified and glorified version of the reality, the Hollywood version. He didn't think it would help here. But he had to try something. "What's the first thing you do?"

"Well, I'd start by defining the problem. So I would outline the input and output data of the program before I…" she started rambling on a little, describing every detail on how she would tackle a program.

"So if we keep thinking of your whole body like a computer, how would you handle a program like your invisibility?" he asked.

Madison blinked. "Um…"

"Don't think too hard about it," Franklin urged. "I know it's impossible, but we're kind of living the impossible right now. So just, go with it. Imagine it as a program."

"Ok," she said, closing her eyes. "It's just a program. A program I don't understand that makes me do things I don't like. So…I take control by running new instructions. And I say, I only want one finger to turn invisible."

They all looked at her fingers for a full minutes but nothing happened. They all stayed completely visible. Madison let out a soft groan, her face downcast.

"Don't worry," Franklin comforted her. "Just try again."

She did. Again and again and again, all with the same result. Nothing ever happened.

"Maybe you should just ask me embarrassing questions. I'm sure that'll get me to want to hide and then it'll show up for sure."

"Yeah, I don't really want to do that," Franklin said.

"Same. Here, I think you're going about it the right way but you're still getting one major part wrong," Travis said.

"What part?"

"I think I know why my powers and even Franklin's come so easily to us. For me, it's because I want them. Like I said, it's a dream come true for me. Even Franklin likes part of it and he does want to use his powers even if he's scared. But you, you're just scared. So I think if you want to be able to control your powers, you have to really want to use them now. Imagining them as a computer program may help you control them, but the first step is just accepting you've got them in the first place."

"Oh, I've accepted it," Madison muttered.

"Have you?" Travis questioned. "Really? Look, I get that for you, it's scary and you hate them and maybe, subconsciously, you just don't want to use them."

"I…" Madison began before sighing. "I don't know. Maybe."

"So, here. Do this. Just focus on breathing. Like, I know that's cliché and all but I mean it. Don't think about anything else. Just breathe in and out. If you have a thought, just let it pass."

"What are you doing?" Franklin asked, confused.

"It's…um, a thing I picked up on. It doesn't always work for me, but it sometimes can so why not give it a shot, right?" He said it nervously, scratching his neck.

"Alright," Madison said, taking deep breaths in and out. "Like this?"

"Yeah, but don't talk. Just breathe."

She stayed that way for a few minutes, just breathing in and out. Franklin didn't know what to make of this or how it would help her but for now, he just watched.

"Now…" Travis said softly and gently, "I'm just going to say a couple things and I want you to do them without thinking, ok? Like, just respond. Don't worry, nothing embarrassing."

"Now I am little concerned," she replied, eyes still closed.

"Yeah, sorry, shouldn't have said that. But let's go back to no talking or thinking." He waited a couple minutes and then said, "raise your right hand."

Madison instantly lifted her hand.

"Good. Now put it down. Raise the other one. Put that down. Tap your finger. Great. Shrug. Very good. Open your eyes. Close them again. Alright. Now…turn your hand invisible."

And just like that, it was invisible.

"YES!" Travis yelled, startling both of them. "I knew it would work! In your face, Jeremy!"

Who the hell is Jeremy? Franklin wondered.

Madison just stared in wonder at her hand, or where it was supposed to be. It looked like it had been severed at the wrist except there was no stump. Even though he'd actually seen her turn invisible before, it still took Franklin's breath away.

Yeah, all of this was going to take some getting used to.

"How does it feel?"

"…Normal," she replied. An instant later, her hand reappeared. Then her other hand disappeared before reappearing. "It feels natural," she said with a mixture of awe and fear in her voice.

"Good," Franklin nodded. "That means the chance of what happened in school today happening again is slim. So let's keep going, shall we?"

They spent the next hour practicing. Travis had decided that since he could work on his speed whenever he wanted to focus on his newfound electric abilities instead, shooting out small blasts of lightning at the ground and walls. He'd been delighted to find some girders and found them to be excellent conductors.

Franklin had also been glad to find them, working out with them now. They were a great way to test his own strength as he learned he could easily bend one and roll it into a large wheel. He also tried lifting some with one finger and while he could just about do it with his index finger, his pinky finger actually did feel some strain. At least he knew he had limits.

Madison kept working on her invisibility throughout. She was now able to turn her hands and parts of her arms invisible but that seemed to be about it. Still, she seemed to have more control over it and that was good. She also seemed to have a better attitude about it which Franklin thought was better. While being wary of these powers was smart, at this point they couldn't be in denial about them. That wouldn't help at all.

Before they knew it, almost two hours had passed by.

"Aw man," Travis groaned, looking at his watch. "I wanted some more time before I went home. That sucks."

Franklin frowned. The way he said that…what was his home life like?

"Well, should we pick this up tomorrow?" he asked.

"Definitely," Travis said instantly.

"Maybe," Madison said after a few seconds of thought. "I need time to…I don't know, think I guess. Figure this stuff out."

"Ok. But it might help more to figure it out together," Travis told her.

"Maybe," Madison repeated. "We'll see. I'll let you know tomorrow."

Travis's phone suddenly started vibrating. "Aw crud, it's my mom. Probably wondering when I'll be home for dinner. Sorry, gotta run now."

"Yeah, I should probably go too. See you man," Franklin waved him off. A second later, he was gone in a whoosh of wind. Franklin felt a twinge of jealousy. He personally would have preferred to have super-speed. Flash had always been one of his favorite characters. Though he couldn't deny that having super strength was cool. Scary, but cool.

He threw the rest of the girders into the corner, clapping his hands. Workouts like this reminded him of his training sessions with his dad. Of course, he didn't lift anything as heavy as all that. But still, he could easily remember his dad standing right next to him, pushing him to add even more weight, to see how much more he could lift up. Keep testing and pushing the limits. It had been brutal back then, but with his dad there to help him, it honestly hadn't been so bad. He would have been so thrilled to see Franklin with powers, to help train him with these as well.

Franklin could picture him standing right next to him now, that eager smile on his face, those square glasses perched on the edge of his nose, the receding hairline. The twinkle in his eye that made it seem like he was up to something.

The pain surged over him so quickly that Franklin felt like doubling over. No, he thought to himself. He couldn't afford to dwell on it all. He had too much to deal with already.

"Franklin?"

Fraklin stood up straight and took a deep breath before replying. "Yeah?"

"You alright?" Madison asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just…felt dizzy for a second."

"Oh, ok. Well, I'm going to take off now. The bus should be at the stop soon."

"Ok. See you tomorrow."

Franklin took a shuddering breath as soon as she left, trying to get his emotions under control. His therapist had told him the pain would fade in time, but it seemed like time was dragging along. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. Every day, it still felt fresh, like the knife just made a knew wound to make. And each new one felt like it would be the one to kill him.

Slowly, he started walking, letting the cool evening air calm his mind. He took a few moments, breathing in and out like what Travis had done earlier. It did help, he found. Not dwelling on anything besides just breathing. Soon, he started to feel a little better.

As soon as he did, he got a text from his mother asking him where he was and he winced. It was getting rather late. He'd better get home.

To his surprise, as he walked back towards the street, he spotted Madison on her way back. "Forgot my phone," she said, embarrassed.

"Gotcha," he nodded and continued on his way.

He wondered about her. Her powers had been so in tune with her emotions, with how she felt. Was that on purpose? It seemed that way for Travis as well. That guy was all over the place, always ready to move. Franklin wouldn't be surprised to learn he had ADHD or something similar. The electrical thing only amped that up.

But what about him? Franklin had always trained to be the strongest, so that made sense. But it didn't feel in tune with his emotions so much. It wasn't like he needed to be the strongest or had this urge to be as strong as he could. So what was it then?

Before he could ponder it further, he heard the slight screech of tires and looked up to see several cars and a truck pull up a little down the street near the warehouse entrance. He frowned, stopping for a second. What seemed to be about twenty guys stepped out, half of them moving towards the warehouse while the other half opened up the truck and began unloading large crates. As they did, Franklin narrowed his eyes and noticed a few of them clutching their sides or backs as if in pain. Or like they were reaching for something.

Like guns.

No! Franklin thought firmly. That wasn't it. That was just an overactive imagination in response to getting superpowers. Just because he had powers now did not automatically mean bad guys were going to start showing up where he was. That was just Hollywood logic and comic book coincidence. Definitely not real.

He kept walking, doing his best to ignore the churning in his gut. It wasn't his business anyway. So what if they had guns, if that's what they were. That didn't automatically mean they were criminals. Even if it was so suspicious that they all went to the warehouse in a group, could be just some sort of rave or something. It wasn't any of his business. Just because he had superpowers now, did not mean he needed to throw himself into situations like this. It was probably nothing, so he should just walk away. It wasn't like anyone would get hurt anyway. Travis and Madison had already…

"Oh shit," he mumbled.

Madison had gone back. She was in there. With a gang of almost-certain criminals. Who almost certainly had guns. And would most almost certainly kill her if they found her.

"Stupid superhero crap," he mumbled before running back.

He slowed down as he approached the warehouse, keeping an eye out in case there were guards around but so far he seemed to be in the clear. That made the chances of this not being some sort of criminal thing lower. But as he went closer to the entrance, he cursed as he saw the man standing in front of it. And in his hands was a large pistol.

"God, why did I have to be right?"

So there were criminals there. With guns. Unfortunately, Franklin hadn't really tested how much punishment he could take with his new powers. He knew he was strong, but was he invincible? He really should have tested that but in fairness he hadn't really thought about winding up in a situation like this.

He had to find Madison and get the hell out of here. But how the hell would he find her? He hadn't heard any commotions so that should mean they hadn't found her either. But that could mean she'd turned invisible which meant he wouldn't be able to find her.

He'd have to get closer somehow. Luckily, during his training, he'd punched a wall to see if he could go through it. Unsurprisingly, he could, making a pretty sizable hole there. He quickly, and as quietly as he could manage, made his way over there, watching carefully for dry twigs and such on the ground. He'd seen way too many movies and shows and he refused to take part in that cliché.

He spotted the hole and carefully peered inside. He cursed under his breath as he saw about twenty people inside, milling around and talking with one another, all with some sort of weapon on them ranging from guns and knives to pipes and brass knuckles. The crates from the truck were in there as well, all stacked in a corner, probably filled with illegal goods like guns or drugs or something. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying as they stayed on the other side of the warehouse, unfortunately, but he understood enough from context.

"What the hell did I just get myself into?"

He looked around but didn't see any sign of Madison. That was both good and bad. He hoped she actually had gotten her phone and left before these guys arrived but he doubted it. He would text her if he could but he didn't have her number.

But he had Travis's.

He cursed again, this time at himself. Why hadn't he thought of that from the beginning? With Travis's speed, he could take all these guys out in the blink of an eye. Or better yet, why not call the police? It was technically their job to handle stuff like this, not a teenager with super-speed.

He hesitated for a second before compromising. He'd send a text to Travis, letting him know about the situation while also calling the police to come help. That way, he'd cover all the bases.

Now, as long as nothing bad happened in the next few minutes, they'd be fine.

Which was why something bad happened.

Franklin had only just gotten his phone out when there was a sudden buzz amongst the gang. Franklin looked up just as he heard more tires screech from outside. What was happening now? Was someone else coming?

There seemed to be a slight scuffle where one of the gang members tripped and fell but he didn't pay too much attention to that as a few seconds later the doors opened up and a man entered the room. Instantly, Franklin felt chills going down his spine as he managed to get a good look at the man. He was in a large coat with the hood up that obscured his head. His face, however, had some sort of metal mask around it. One that didn't seem like it came from a costume shop.

All the people inside quieted as he approached, leading to Franklin thinking he was either the boss or the buyer of whatever those goods were. He leaned in closer, trying to hear better when something happened that made him gasp in horror.

Something…seemed to come out of the man's hand, something fluid and metallic that reached for the first crate and ripped off the lid easily.

"Oh god," he muttered, a terrifying thought hitting him.

If superheroes were real, why not supervillains?